Like a Red Prison

Photo courtesy of Gawker.com

Contrary to what people have heard or read about this group of masked women, they aren't just any punk band, they are a punk collective of activists from Moscow, Russia who, through their music and protests, have bravely put their opinion of their country's wrong-doings on the Internet for the rest of the world to see.

In 2011, a group of 11 Russian women founded their protest group and have used balaclavas and nicknames to hide their identities while staging performances in public locations all over Russia with their lyrics covering topics like lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, feminism and their opposition to the policies of Russian president Vladimir Putin.

Their group gained major exposure after their performance in front of Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior in February 2012 and arrest in March of three members: Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alyokhina and Yekaterina Samutsevich. Soon the images of these women behind bars were plastered all over the news and social media networks exploded with "free Pussy Riot" tags and their actions became new symbols of feminism and rebellion against the patriarchy.

In late September, Tolokonnikova wrote an open letter to the news site Lenta describing the prison's conditions as "unsanitary conditions in which women work through sickness and injury up to 17 hours a day and are beaten -- or worse -- for failing to complete their duties." She went on a hunger strike to protest the conditions but was forced to stop after she fell ill while staying in the prison hospital.

In her initial letter, Tolokonnikova also wrote,"I demand that the colony administration respect human rights. I demand that the Mordovia camp function in accordance with the law. I demand that we be treated like human beings, not slaves."